California-born museum director considers herself 'grasslands woman'

Family members still reside on the west coast, and she mentions that, sure, there are bound to be times when she misses the ocean and mountains.

Just paying a visit is more than enough.

“I’ve known for a long time: I’m a grasslands woman,” said Johnson, who earlier this year saw the “interim” removed from her title and was named executive director of the Museum of Texas Tech.

“The South Plains is where I want to be. This, Lubbock and Texas Tech, is where I am happiest, and have been for some time.”

In fact, she pointed out that Lubbock has been her home since becoming director of the Lubbock Lake Landmark, also known as Lubbock Lake Site, while pursuing her Ph.D at Texas Tech in 1972.

She added, “Actually, I’ve now lived longer in Lubbock than I ever did in California.”

Her first association with museums was via a part time job while an undergraduate at the University of California at Berkeley. But it wasn’t long, she said, before that part time job was transformed into a lifetime passion.

Even then, she saw the importance in “taking better care of what we find.”

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